The first few sentences let you know that you are about to start a journey of discovery to a destination that no sat/nav could plot a course for, even the ordinance survey would have a problem locating exactly which route will be followed and where upon the lines of latitude and longitude you will arrive.
This is an amble of wonderment in a young lads life as he grew up in the green belt that surrounds London, turning the woodlands and meadows into a Carrollian theme park that he shared with his young friend Alice. The constant battles with his father, two generations divided by mis-understandment, one in a world that was and the other in a world that would be. On his search for the essence and understanding of a musical form that his birth roots and tribal memories had no perception of he leads you by the curiosity of those first eerie haunting sounds that arrived via the gramophone of an elderly neighbour to the unsuspecting and absorbing ear drums of a young disciple , sounds that would drive him ever onward into adulthood on a quest for that elusive mystery that is 'Blues'
This is a historical tour through the beginnings of the second half of the twentieth century that led to so much upheaval and change in the structure of British society,
For those who had not lived in or taken part in these turbulent days as Britain finally clawed it's way out of the austerity of the post war years, this is a peep hole into a world that modern eyes could not perceive. For those of that generation who can stand up and say "I was there." so much can be found in these pages to stop them sharp with a cry of, "Oh My God! I remember that."
Part one of 'An Odd Boy' is like having the taste of some exotic food on the tip of the tongue, you are not sure of what it is you like but you must try some more and some more, and some more.
This is a book to be read from end to end and then to be shared.
Colin Tozer is a performing Blues musician — veteran of the British Blues Boom — and an Artist. He was born & bred in the Wandle Delta and grew up in Beautiful Down Town Battersea home of the blues and has lived in France for 5 years.
“
My father had a stack of 78's of all types in this bunch of vinyl, there was a bit of jazz and blues and it made me hooked. The music I play is usually the southern states of the United States, except for a few songs written by myself, but also some traditional English songs. In fact, the primary emotion of the music emanates and extends from the Mississippi to the Appalachian Mountains, to this side of the Atlantic.”
www.cjtozer.co.uk [Translated from French by Google]
Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by
Aro Books worldwide
Excerpts can be read on
Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at
anoddboy.com
